Emporia Fire was busy Thursday, dealing with two small structure fires and a reported injury crash.
Firefighters first went to a trailer home fire in the 1000 block of Road 135, between Emporia and Olpe, around 11 am. Fire Capt. Ryan Schmidt says the unnamed resident apparently sprayed foam insulation in a space between a bedroom and the water heater. The vapors apparently ignited, causing a small fire that was quickly extinguished. Fire-specific damage was minimal.
The second fire developed at 1788 Road 190 shortly before 5:30 pm. Schmidt says the unnamed resident had a trash burn in a barrel, but the barrel was too close to the house. Once the fire got out of the barrel, it caused minor damage to the detached outbuilding. That fire was also put out quickly.
The reported injury crash happened shortly after 5:30 pm at Interstate 35 mile marker 134 northbound, between the East Sixth Avenue and Road R-1 exits. Fire Capt. Willie Ward says the driver, a woman, apparently had an unlisted medical issue and drove off the highway into a pond. Ward says the water was shallow, but the woman was extricated while her two children were unharmed. There were no hospital trips afterward.
